Mentor PADs features a variety of “modeless” commands that all you to change settings on the fly using quick keystrokes instead of poking around through the GUI menus. This post describes some of the available commands using the Layout package. To activate the commands you simply start typing when the software has focus. After the first keystroke a dialog will appear showing the command.
| Modeless Command | Group | Command Description | |
|---|---|---|---|
| ? | Miscellaneous | Show Help | |
| AA | Line/Trace Angle Settings | Any angle mode | |
| AD | Line/Trace Angle Settings | Diagonal angle mode | |
| AO | Line/Trace Angle Settings | Orthogonal angle mode | |
| C | Object Visibility | Complementary format | |
| D | Object Visibility | Toggle ‘Active layer to front’ | |
| DO | Object Visibility | Toggle drill outline | |
| DRI | DRC Settings | Ignore clearance | |
| DRO | DRC Settings | Turn off DRC Mode | |
| DRP | DRC Settings | Prevent | |
| DRW | DRC Settings | Warn | |
| E | Vias | Toggle End Via modes | |
| F <name> | Miscellaneous | Open file <name> | |
| G <x> {<y>} | Cartesian Grid Settings | Set design and via grids | |
| GD <x> {<y>} | Cartesian Grid Settings | Set displayed (dot) grid | |
| GP | Polar Grid Settings | Polar grid on/off | |
| GP r a | Polar Grid Settings | Move to point specified by radius and angle | |
| GPA a | Polar Grid Settings | Move to point specified by angle | |
| GPR r | Polar Grid Settings | Move to point specified by radius | |
| GPRA da | Polar Grid Settings | Move to point specified by current angle (da) | |
| GPRR dr | Polar Grid Settings | Move to point specified by current radius (dr) | |
| GR <x> {<y>} | Cartesian Grid Settings | Set via grid | |
| HC | Drafting Shape Control | Circle shape draw mode | |
| HH | Drafting Shape Control | Path shape draw mode | |
| HP | Drafting Shape Control | Polygon shape draw mode | |
| HR | Drafting Shape Control | Rectangle shape draw mode | |
| I | Miscellaneous | Run database integrity test | |
| L <n> | Layers | Change current layer | |
| LD | Layers | Toggle direction for current layer | |
| LS | Line Style Settings | Show current line style | |
| LS A | Line Style Settings | Line style Dash Dotted | |
| LS B | Line Style Settings | Line style Dash Double-Dotted | |
| LS D | Line Style Settings | Line style Dashed | |
| LS O | Line Style Settings | Line style Dotted | |
| LS S | Line Style Settings | Line style Solid | |
| N | Net Highlighting | Remove all highlighting | |
| N – | Net Highlighting | Unhighlight (reverse order) | |
| N <s> | Net Highlighting | Highlight nets one by one | |
| NN | Net Name Visibility | Toggle net name visibility | |
| NNP | Net Name Visibility | Toggle net names on pins | |
| NNT | Net Name Visibility | Toggle net names on trances | |
| NNV | Net Name Visibility | Toggle net names on vias | |
| O | Outline Mode Settings | Toggle outline mode | |
| OH | Outline Mode Settings | Toggle outline mode (high res) | |
| OL | Outline Mode Settings | Toggle outline mode (low res) | |
| OS | Objects Snapping | Object snap mode | |
| OS <n> | Objects Snapping | Object snap type (see chart below for values) | |
| OSR <n> | Objects Snapping | Object snap radius | |
| PL <n1> <n2> | Layers | Paired layer command | |
| PN | Object Visibility | Toggle pin number display | |
| PO | Pour Outline and Plane Data Settings | Toggle pour outline | |
| Q | Measurement | Quick measure | |
| QL | Measurement | Quick length (of selected route items) | |
| R <n> | Line/Trace Width Settings | Sets minimum display width | |
| RE <n> | Multiple Undo and Redo Operations | Multiple redo command (1–100) | |
| RV | General Mode Settings | Toggle ‘Make Like Reuse’ operations | |
| S <s> | Searching | Search for refdes/pin | |
| S <x> <y> | Searching | Search absolute | |
| SH | General Mode Settings | Toggle Shove mode | |
| SO | Setting Origins | Sets origin using current design coordinates | |
| SOA | Setting Origins | Sets origin using absolute coordinates of design space | |
| SPD | Pour Outline and Plane Data Settings | Display generated plane data | |
| SPI | Pour Outline and Plane Data Settings | Display plane thermal indicators | |
| SPO | Pour Outline and Plane Data Settings | Display plane polygon outlines | |
| SR <x> <y> | Searching | Search relative | |
| SRX <x> | Searching | Search relative X at current Y | |
| SRY <y> | Searching | Search relative Y at current X | |
| SS <s> | Searching | Search and select (by refdes) | |
| SS <s>* | Searching | Search and select using asterisk (C*) | |
| SX <x> | Searching | Search absolute X at current Y | |
| SY <y> | Searching | Search absolute Y at current X | |
| T | Object Visibility | Toggle transparent mode | |
| UI | Setting Design Units | Set design units to inches | |
| UM | Setting Design Units | Set design units to mils | |
| UMM | Setting Design Units | Set design units to millimeters | |
| UN <n> | Multiple Undo and Redo Operations | Multiple undo command (1–100) | |
| V | Vias | Open Via dialog | |
| VA | Vias | Automatic via selection | |
| VP | Vias | Use partial via | |
| VT <name> | Vias | Use through hole via | |
| W <n> | Line/Trace Width Settings | Changes current trace or line width | |
| X | Object Visibility | Toggle text outline | |
| XP | Searching | Search and select route segments using pixels | |
| Z | Layer Visibility | Quick layer view | |
| Z +<layer> | Layer Visibility | Add layer to current set of displayed layers | |
| Z -<layer> | Layer Visibility | Remove layer from current set of displayed layers | |
| Z <n-m> | Layer Visibility | View only the range of layers specified | |
| Z <n> {<m>} | Layer Visibility | View only the layers specified | |
| Z A | Layer Visibility | View the active layer | |
| Z ADB | Layer Visibility | View the assembly drawing bottom layer | |
| Z ADT | Layer Visibility | View the assembly drawing top layer | |
| Z B | Layer Visibility | View only the bottom layer | |
| Z C | Layer Visibility | View only the current layer | |
| Z D | Layer Visibility | View all documentation layers | |
| Z E | Layer Visibility | View all electrical layers | |
| Z I | Layer Visibility | View all internal layers | |
| Z O | Layer Visibility | View only the outside (top and bottom) layers | |
| Z PMB | Layer Visibility | View the paste mask bottom | |
| Z PMT | Layer Visibility | View the paste mask top | |
| Z SMB | Layer Visibility | View the solder mask bottom | |
| Z SMT | Layer Visibility | View the solder mask top | |
| Z SSB | Layer Visibility | View the silkscreen bottom | |
| Z SST | Layer Visibility | View the silkscreen top | |
| Z T | Layer Visibility | View only the top layer | |
| Z U | Layer Visibility | View unrouted connections | |
| Z Z | Layer Visibility | View all layers | |
| Z* | Layer Visibility | View all layers | |
| Z-* | Layer Visibility | Hide all layers | |
| ZR <name> | Layer Visibility | Restore layer view | |
| ZS <name> | Layer Visibility | Save layer view |